Doubts cast on UN report of Somali support for Hizbullah

A UN report that claims 720 fighters from Somalia's Islamic courts fought alongside Hizbullah during the recent war with Israel has been questioned by experts.

The report, compiled by the Monitoring Group on Somalia and to be presented to the UN security council tomorrow, also alleges that Iran sought to purchase uranium from the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (Sics) in exchange for weapons. It names 11 countries that have violated the country's arms embargo, including Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Libya and Egypt.

If the allegations about the Hizbullah links and Iran's uranium quest are true, the report would vindicate those in the west who view the rise of the Islamic courts as a threat to world peace.

But several Horn of Africa analysts say these and other claims in the report appear exaggerated and lack evidence.

A diplomatic source who follows Somalia and asked not to be named said he feared the 80-page report could become a "very useful propaganda tool" for hawks in the west.

Matt Bryden, a regional consultant to the International Crisis Group, expressed similar reservations. "We need to treat many of these claims with caution until we see firm evidence," he said.

The four-man monitoring group is mainly based in Nairobi and relies on intelligence from Somalia. The team is respected, although some of its previous reports have been seen by some as alarmist. The latest covers the period from May 5, a month before Sics took control of the capital, Mogadishu.

Ethiopia and Eritrea are identified as the principal embargo violators, a fact no one disputes. Ethiopia, which backs the government, is believed to have thousands of soldiers in Somalia. Eritrea has sent a smaller number to back the courts. The report's mention of a massive build-up of heavy weapons on both sides is also not questioned, nor the fact that the country may be on the brink of an all-out war.

But the allegations of battlefield assistance to Hizbullah have aroused widespread scepticism. "To me it's completely counter-intuitive," said Ken Menkhaus, a professor of political science and Somalia expert at Davidson College in the US. "Somalis, whether secular or Islamist, are parochial, and have never been animated about distant causes."